Shuffle Playlist: Evermore by Taylor Swift.
''Sabrina, we are still family. Don't make things difficult for both of us, sister-in-law.''
''I am not your sister-in-law. Give me back the purse.'' Sabrina tried to take the purse and the tattooed man laughed and lifted his hand high.
''Sabrina, let's not do this here. I know you blame me for your brother's death. But at the end of the day, you should know better that this wasn't my fault. It's the curse in your family that killed your brother.''
''What?''
''I once overheard your brother talking to you over the phone about the curse in your family. Nobody has ever lived past thirty years. It happened to your parents, your brother and now, it will happen to you too. I am Bia's uncle. If you suddenly die, what will happen to your beloved niece? Are you going to leave her to that friend of yours who isn't your real family?''
''Shut up! I am not going to die.''
The tattooed man laughed. ''That's the same thing your brother said but what happened? He died. Listen to me. I am not here to make things difficult for you. You are already twenty-eight years, who knows whether you might live to thirty years, or not, but you still have to think about what's best for Bia, right? She is just eight years.''
''Technically speaking, she still has over twenty years more to live. I am her uncle. I can take better care of her. You just need to go to the court and add my name as your next of kin. You can die with a peace of mind. I will use the money you've made to take care of Bia.''
Sabrina clenched her fists tightly. She couldn't believe the audacity of Tim to be discussing her death so lightly. Her body quivered and she yelled.
''I said shut up, Tim!'' Sabrina started hitting Tim.
''Hey! Stop beating me. I only came to tell you the truth. In any case, if you die, I will fight till the end until I get Bia back.'' Tim said.
''Sabrina…'' Vincent walked over. He had wanted to step in the moment the two men stopped Sabrina but when he heard their conversation and realized they might know each other, he decided to wait a little before stepping in.
Tim and his friend turned and looked at Vincent. ''He is that businessman you got into the scandal with, right?'' Tim chuckled. 'He doesn't look bad.''
''Sabrina, are you alright?'' Vincent asked and Sabrina shook her head.
''I'm fine.'' Sabrina snatched her purse from Tim and warned him. ''Don't you ever appear in front of me again or I will inform the court. I'm leaving you this once because of Bia.''
Tim smiled and beckoned on his friend. They looked at Vincent as they walked away.
''Sabrina…'' Vincent immediately held Sabrina back when she lost her stance and was about to fall. 'Give me the room card.''
Vincent took the room card and opened the door. He helped Sabrina inside and closed the door behind them.
Vincent opened the fridge and removed a bottle of water. He opened the lid and handed the bottle to Sabrina. ''Drink some water.''
Sabrina took a few sips and calmed down. ''Thank you.''
''Who are those men? How are you related to them?'' Vincent was worried about her and the people around her. It seemed like, she was always in dangerous situations.
''That's Tim. Bia's uncle. After my brother passed away, he used the poor child to extort money from me. When I found out, I decided to fight for the custody of the child and I won the case. I got a restraining order for him not to go near Bia or anywhere she might be.''
Sabrina sighed. ''I really didn't know I would meet him here. I didn't know he had relocated to Milan, because the case was five years ago and I never contacted him again.''
''Tim treated Bia badly and she almost lost her life because she was malnourished and lacked basic healthcare. She went through a tough time and is now opening up to me.''
Vincent placed his hand on Sabrina's shoulder and patted her gently. ''It's alright!''
''This is all my fault. I should have looked for Bia earlier on, but I was so engulfed in my own pain that I didn't think about her. I was selfish.''
''Sabrina, listen to me. You cannot tell how the other person will behave. It's normal to be selfish when you are grieving, but didn't you get her out of that bad situation? You did and that girl loves you. When she thought I was bullying you, she stepped in.''
''I think you have the best niece in the world. It's time to stop blaming yourself. As for that Tim, I will make sure he doesn't come near you or Bia ever again.''
Sabrina suddenly wrapped her arms around Vincent in a tight hug and started crying. Vincent was taken aback by their sudden close proximity but because she was crying, he didn't push her away. He hugged her back and patted her back.
''It's alright! I'm here, I'm here…'' Vincent mumbled.
A while later…
Vincent covered Sabrina with the quilt after watching her fall asleep. She was holding on to his hand tightly, so he gently removed his fingers one by one until he was free from her grip.
Vincent observed her for a few seconds before leaving the room. As soon as he closed the door, he made a call to someone.
''I want you to find someone. His name is Tim Ambrose.'' Vincent spoke as he walked away.
….
A few hours later…
Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, inside a warehouse.
Tim was shackled on a chair and two men stood by his side. Another man was sitting in a relaxed manner across Vincent as they chatted.
''Vince, who is this man that you asked me to bring to you? Did he mess with you?'' Lorenzo asked. Lorenzo was a notorious NSA in Milan. He was Adelaide's work partner and had a good relationship with Vincent.
''Se metio con mi mujer!'' Vincent replied in Spanish and Lorenzo laughed.
''En realidad?'' Lorenzo laughed again and looked at Tim. He stood up and cussed as he walked over to give Tim a punch. ''El es carne muerta entonces.''
''Don't' beat him too hard. I still need him to answer a few questions for me.'' Vincent stood up and walked closer to Tim.
When Tim saw Vincent, he bit his tongue. ''It's you!''
Lorenzo stepped aside and nodded his boys to step back. Vincent pulled one of the chairs closer and sat across Tim.
''I'm going to ask you a few questions. Depending on how you answer them, I might decide to let you go, or else…'' Vincent smirked.
''Or else what? Are you going to kill me? For a woman who doesn't have that much time left?'' Tim asked.
''Do you want to see if I can really get rid of you or not?'' Vincent dared him.
''Shoot! I will answer any questions you have.'' Tim replied.
''What do you mean by a woman who doesn't have much time left?'' Vincent asked.
Tim laughed. ''I know you are curious about that. Let me tell you, that bitch is going to die. She will live for at most up to another year if she is lucky.''
''What do you mean?''
''Her family is cursed. First, I thought it wasn't true, but her brother suddenly passed away and then, I decided to look into it. I found out her parents, even grandparents didn't live pass the age of thirty. They all died before thirty years.''
Tim spoke as if he was narrating a thriller. He didn't feel remorseful at all. ''I couldn't believe it. One day, I overheard her and her brother quarreling. She was angry because her brother had gotten my sister pregnant. She said her brother was careless and selfish because bringing a child into the world meant that the curse was going to continue.''
''It was a big messy fight, and Sabrina left home. She joined her best friend in California and her brother was still in New York with my sister. I think the two didn't speak again since then, until my sister gave birth.''
''My sister didn't want to stay with her brother, so she gave the baby to him and got remarried to another man. Since then, her brother took care of the baby until she was about four or five years old. Her brother knew his time was near so he wanted to give the child to Sabrina but she refused.''
''Thomas then asked me to take care of the child while he puts things into order. It was as if he knew he was going to die. Then, one day, he was running late and asked me to pick up Bia from school, so I went. I didn't know that was the last time I would see him again. He suddenly had a heart attack inside the car and that was the end.''
''Now that I think about it, that's how their other family members died. I wanted to keep my brother in law's fortune so I decided to take care of the child, but she is so annoying and kept asking for her aunt. I used the money to gamble and lost everything.''